Mass. voters approve medical marijuana, auto repair question

Wednesday

Nov 7, 2012 at 6:00 AMNov 7, 2012 at 3:47 PM

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Massachusetts residents have approved a new law legalizing medical marijuana.

The law eliminates state criminal and civil penalties for the medical use of marijuana by people with cancer, hepatitis C, Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis and other conditions.

Supporters say marijuana eases the suffering of people with debilitating diseases.

Opponents say the law is ripe for abuse and fraud. They fear there's no effective way to regulate marijuana dispensaries to make sure only sick patients get the drug. And they say they saw Tuesday's ballot question as the next step toward full legalization of marijuana. In 2008, Massachusetts decriminalized possession of marijuana in amounts under 1 ounce.

Massachusetts voters also approved a ballot question requiring automakers to provide car owners and independent repair shops with access to their diagnostic systems.

Approval of the measure Tuesday came on the same day a compromise right-to-repair law took effect in the state.

The compromise was passed by the Legislature in July but came too late for the question to be removed from the ballot.

The ballot question would supersede the compromise law. Both require all new cars sold in the state include onboard diagnostic and repair information systems. The ballot question calls for the requirement by 2015, while the law gives the industry until 2018.

It's unclear whether legislators will revisit the issue in the next session.

On the question of whether to permit physicians to prescribe medications to end the lives of terminally ill patients, the vote was 49 percent in favor, 51 percent opposed, with 86 percent of precincts -- 1,870 of 2,172 precincts -- reporting.